Perhaps you have read to your children Dr. Seuss’s poem titled
“Green Eggs and Ham.” Perhaps you even remember having that poem
read to you as a child. It is a great poem! It is about how “Sam-I-Am”
keeps trying to get an unnamed friend to eat “green eggs and ham.” However, he has little success. The unnamed
friend simply refuses even to taste the dish. He keeps insisting that he would
not like it. In an attempt to get
him to taste green eggs and ham, Sam takes his friend through a series of locations. There
they meet an assortment of people and beasts. Nevertheless, the unnamed character
would not budge in his pre-conceived assumption that he would not like the taste of green eggs and ham:
I could not, would not, in a house.
I would not, could not, with a mouse.
I would not eat them with a fox.
I would not eat them in a box.
I would not eat them here or there.
I would not eat them anywhere.
I would not eat green eggs and ham.
I do not like them, Sam-I-Am.”
Finally, the unnamed friend gives in and consents to taste the green eggs and ham. But, only on the condition that if he tastes it Sam will stop pestering him. Unexpectedly, he realizes that he likes the taste of “green eggs and ham.” In fact, he declares that he gladly would
eat green eggs and ham in all the locations, and with all those people and beasts that are mentioned in the book. In the end, he thanks Sam for being so persistent.
In the texts from Acts, Peter likewise refuses to eat the foods that have been
lowered down to him on a heavenly sheet. For God to tell him to eat these creatures,
it was not simply an assault on his taste buds. Rather, it was an assault on
his identity as a Jew. God had clearly spelled it all out in Leviticus
(11:2-28) and Deuteronomy (14: 3-20). There were specific foods that were to be considered as “clean,”
and those considered “unclean.”
The distinctions had been written in the sacred scriptures. It was God’s Holy
Word to them. Further, those distinctions had held them together as Jews throughout the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple—those distinctions had held them together as Jews throughout their exile in Babylon and kept them from being assimilated into being Babylonians. Those distinctions had continued to hold them together as Jews under the Roman occupation
of their country and the pagan influences. These distinctions therefore were
not some arbitrary human made distinctions. Rather, God had saved them as a people
through giving them these distinctions.
Therefore, when God’s command to Peter to “kill and eat,” that command challenged the core beliefs that Peter had been taught as a child, the beliefs on which he had shaped his life. Peter was confused in how God could change his mind, and to command him to do something that was clearly
stated to be wrong in the scriptures. Therefore, it took two visions, angels
and the Holy Spirit to get Peter to understand how God was at work in doing “a new thing” in the world. Here is how that all came about:
Cornelius was a Roman non-commissioned officer who commanded 100 Italian troops at the
fortress in Caesarea. He
was a Roman citizen, and a Gentile who worshipped the God of Israel. He further
lived out his faith through frequent times of prayer, and faithful stewardship of his financial resources. About 3 p.m.,
one afternoon, Cornelius was in prayer. While in prayer, he saw a vision of an
angel coming to him and telling him to send some men to Joppa to find Peter, who was staying at the home of Simon the tanner. Cornelius obeyed God’s command to him, and he sent two of his slaves and another
believer to Joppa to seek out Peter.
The next day, about noon, Peter had gone up to the flat roof of Simon’s home to pray. While in prayer, he had
a vision of a sheet being lowered down from heaven, with all kinds of four-footed creatures, reptiles and birds in it. Then God spoke to him telling him to kill and eat these creatures. Peter protested declaring that he had been pious all his life and never eaten these “unclean”
creatures. God spoke to him again telling him the same thing, and each time Peter
protested. This happened for three times, and finally the sheet was taken up
to heaven.
At the same time, Cornelius’ three representatives arrived at Simon’s house,
and asked to speak with Peter. After introducing themselves, they asked Peter
to go with them to Cornelius’ house in Caesarea.
Since coming to Joppa, Peter had been crossing boundaries. First, he was staying with Simon the tanner. Simon was an outsider, who was not considered clean because
he worked with the skins of dead animals.
Again, Peter was going to cross another boundary.
He was going to go with these strangers, in order that he might meet with a Gentile member of the oppressive Roman
army. Peter went with them, because he was beginning to understand the vision
of the sheet full of “clean” and “unclean” creatures. Peter
realized that his vision was not concerning foods. Rather, his vision was about people that God had declared to be “clean,”
people that God had changed from outsiders to insiders. Realizing this revolutionary
fact, some of the other believers went with Peter and these three men to see Cornelius in Caesarea.
When Peter arrived at Cornelius’s home, he discovered that Cornelius had assembled
all the members of his family, as well as his closest friends. To that invited
audience, Peter began telling them, “You
yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I must not call
anyone profane or unclean.” Then Peter told those assembled,
“I truly understand that God shows no
partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”
Unexpectedly, while Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit came upon all of them.
The believers that had come with Peter were astonished that the Holy Spirit had
been poured out upon the Gentiles. Then Peter declared, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received
the Holy Spirit just as we have?” Therefore, he ordered that all
of them to be baptized.
Word traveled fast, even in the ancient world. Therefore,
Peter had a lot of explaining to do when he got back to Jerusalem. So he told the church leaders the story of
how God had acted through him and Cornelius, and how the Holy Spirit had come upon them all at Cornelius’ home. He then concluded by telling them, “If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that
I could hinder God?” When they all heard what Peter had to
say, their objections were silenced, and they praised God, saying, “Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”
It is hard, if not almost impossible for us to realize the earthshaking change of mind
that had taken place. They realized that God, in Jesus Christ, had enlarged the
scope of those God called “insiders,” so that even the Gentiles could have a place within the family circle.
On one hand, I find this story very exciting—and on the other hand, I find this
story very disturbing. I always
have found a certain comfort in feeling that my church will remain the same. Frankly,
however, that illusion disappeared even long before I was born. The church always
has been changing! For 2000 years, the church has been changing! There have been some things that needed to change—and for those changes, I am thankful. I know without any doubt that those changes certainly have been brought about by God’s leading. Yet I also know that change never has come easy for us Christians. Sometimes, like in the poem “Green Eggs and Ham”
that change has come only after a series of seeming hindrances to the gospel. In
fact, the entire Book of Acts is about God overcoming all sorts of hindrances to the gospel.
Therefore, who is the real hero in this story that we heard this morning? It is not Peter, nor is it Cornelius. Rather, the hero is the gracious God who kept prodding Peter and Cornelius and the saints in Jerusalem. The same God who today,
still finds a “way in the world” that his Good News might thrive. Peter and Cornelius were included in God’s
“way in the world,” because they were open to new insights about life. May
God continue to enable us all to be open to the continuing prodding of the Holy Spirit.
What then about liking “green eggs and ham?” I like eggs and I like ham. Just maybe, God will lead you and
me to deeply appreciate the “green eggs and ham” changes in our lives, and in the life of our church.
